Convicted Franconia pill mill doctor wants new trial

NORRISTOWN — The lawyers for a Franconia doctor convicted of running a “pill mill” for addicts want to elicit testimony from prosecutors regarding the extent of their knowledge about a drug investigation surrounding the doctor’s lawyer around the time of the doctor’s trial.

Dr. Richard R. Ruth, through his lawyer Francis J. Genovese, renewed his request for a new trial in Montgomery County Court on Thursday, alleging prosecutors violated American Bar Association Standards of Prosecutorial Investigation and Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure by failing to inform Ruth and trial Judge Gary S. Silow that Ruth’s trial lawyer, Gregory R. Noonan, was under investigation for drug-related activity at the same time as Ruth’s trial last November.

Holding an evidentiary hearing on the matter “will likely necessitate the taking of testimony” from Noonan and First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, who prosecuted Ruth, as well as prosecutors handling Noonan’s case and county detectives who investigated Noonan, Genovese wrote in court documents.

“We absolutely think a hearing is required so that we can develop an appropriate record on just what was known by the (district attorney’s office) and when,” said Genovese, who also is seeking a new trial for Ruth’s son, Michael, who was the office manager of the medical practice and who stood trial with his father.

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Additionally, Genovese said, any hearing will likely require the issuance of subpoenas for files from the district attorney’s office, the county detectives and Noonan to substantiate the claims that Ruth’s due process rights were violated and that he deserves a new trial as a result.

Although Michael Ruth was not represented by Noonan, Genovese argued Noonan was the lead lawyer at the combined trial and therefore Michael Ruth also is entitled to a new trial.

Noonan, 54, of Towamencin, who represented Richard Ruth at trial, recently pleaded guilty to charges in connection with two oxycodone sales to undercover detectives between Nov. 23 and Dec. 19, 2013, and is awaiting sentencing. With the charges, authorities alleged Noonan sold an undercover Philadelphia police officer 179 oxycodone pills, with the agreement he’d be paid $15 per pill, while the pair met inside Noonan’s 1997 Jaguar vehicle parked in the 500 block of Swede Street in Norristown about 6:55 p.m. Nov. 23.

The Nov. 23 drug sale, according to court documents, occurred just one day after Noonan wrapped up the trial at which Ruth, of the 300 block of Godshall Road, was convicted of charges he ran a corrupt organization from his Franconia medical office by repeatedly prescribing oxycodone to drug dependent patients.

In court papers, Genovese and co-defense lawyer Martin P. Mullaney contend Steele “had an affirmative duty” and “a legal obligation” to inform the judge about Noonan’s involvement in the illegal distribution of narcotics and of the investigation of Noonan and that potential charges against Noonan created “a conflict of interest” concerning Noonan’s representation of Ruth. The investigation of Noonan calls into question the integrity and fairness of the trial and Noonan’s ability to represent Ruth, Genovese and Mullaney implied.

Genovese maintained the investigation of Noonan was occurring at the same time as Ruth’s trial.

“As a result of their not disclosing that information to the court, our client’s due process rights were violated and therefore a new trial is warranted,” Genovese argued.

Steele responded that the petition for a new trial is “devoid of merit” and “illustrative of a disappointed criminal defendant.”

“The defendant and his new attorneys are desperately groping for straws that don’t exist. The suggestion that the commonwealth should notify the subject of an investigation of the existence of an investigation is absurd, and not supported by the law or any rules,” Steele maintained.

“It would have been wholly inappropriate for prosecutors to notify the court of a pending investigation in this case, which no one could have predicted would lead to charges being filed at any particular time. An investigation could not have impacted the trial, as the subject had no knowledge of its existence,” Steele added.

Steele claimed Ruth and his lawyers cited “no relevant legal authority” to support their assertion that prosecutors were obligated to inform the judge about an ongoing investigation.

To support his argument, Genovese referred to a previous federal court ruling in a similar case during which a federal appeals court approved a new trial for a defendant accused of drug charges after the U.S. Attorney’s Office failed to adequately inform a trial judge that a government witness had informed prosecutors that the defendant’s lawyer was involved in heroin trafficking.

“On appeal, the court of appeals said … no client in their right mind would go to trial with an attorney who was under investigation for committing the same crimes that they stood trial for,” Genovese claimed.

Last week, Silow sentenced Ruth, 78, to 15 to 30 years in state prison for overprescribing powerful painkillers to drug-addicted patients at his once thriving medical office in the 200 block of Cherry Lane in Franconia. The sentence included several consecutive prison terms sought by prosecutors.

Genovese argued that the sentence represented “cruel and unusual punishment” in light of Ruth’s advanced age and his lack of a prior criminal history and is essentially “a life-sentence.” Absent a new trial, Genovese asked Silow to reconsider the sentence.

Silow sentenced Michael Ruth, 46, of East Rockhill, Bucks County, to seven to 22 years in state prison. Genovese argued consecutive sentences imposed against Michael Ruth were “manifestly excessive and clearly unreasonable.”

During a trial last November, Ruth and his son each was convicted by a jury of charges of corrupt organizations, identity theft, insurance fraud, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and conspiracy in connection with incidents that occurred between 2010 and 2011 at their medical office.

The jury also convicted Richard Ruth of prescribing controlled substances to nine drug dependent patients and multiple counts of the unlawful prescription of controlled substances by a practitioner.

The trial was one of the first in Montgomery County at which a doctor was charged with overprescribing medications like oxycodone for profit, an issue that has garnered national attention in recent years.